let's see. a lot has happened.

the hotel in windhoek was nice, but we were supposed to stay on the grounds all the time, so windhoek was less 'boundless freedom of untamed africa' and more 'minimum security containment facility.' the peace corps places quite an emphasis on safety, and it leads to having us do things that don't come naturally to a lot of the free-spirited travelers that are here (like telling everybody to go everywhere in groups until we know the language better, and not allowing us to go into town for the first couple of nights). we had classes in rooms with chandeliers and pitchers of ice water all over the place--which wasn't at all what i had expected would happen.

so, i felt like i actually arrived in africa on sunday. that day, we left windhoek and came north to okihandja. it is a small (maybe 1.5 mi long x 3 blocks or so wide of paved road.... apparently quite a few houses away from that, but i haven't seen where) town at the intersection of two of namibia's highways. it is famous because northern artisans (woodcarvers, mostly) come down to sell their wares. they make tall skinny giraffes (6 ft tall, and bigger), faces carved out of tree trunks, and other stuff like that. it will be a good place to shop for gifts at some point.

anyway, we got to okahandja in the afternoon, and the language and cross-cultural trainers sang and danced traditional welcome songs. first it was in a line as we walked in to the training site, then we went into an assembly hall, which had the acoustics of a really big shower, and really made it sound good. then they individually said welcome and thanks for coming. it was really something. so much so that it is hard to describe--it is like trying to explain how big new york city is. all the songs were in harmony, mostly from the first note, and there was a lot going on with us anyway in terms of being some place new. so it was really cool.

the songs they sang were: 'a damara greeting song', 'if i had a lot of time i would entertain you all day long', and one 'praising family.' then, a bunch of other ones that they didn't explain.

i was there maybe half an hour and learning greetings (greetings are a BIG deal here) in oshi-herero from a gentleman whose brother goes to kansas university.

the moon here, when almost new, is light on the bottom rather than the sides. it appears that the bright spot travels vertically (relative to the horizon) on it but we haven't really seen it enough days to be able to tell. anybody know about that? jamie?

the next day we decided that the instant coffee in a bowl on the table was cinnamon. we all put it on our oatmeal, to the amazement of the training staff. as you can tell, i'm not having trouble doing the stupid american thing.

the first ultimate game was on tuesday. it was sheer, utter, pandemonium. teams of 10 on a field that was about one third of the usual size. around 5 people had ever played before, there were obstacles everywhere, and out of bounds meant throwing the frisbee over a fence with barbed wire on top, which slowed the game down. eventually i decided to try and preserve possesion of my frisbee and left everybody else to it. i went to play soccer in the street and we played until well after (an hour or two) dark.

we've been going to training classes all day, every day. the language classes are a blast. the teachers are really good. the cross cultural stuff is very interesting, emphasizing the importance of greeting, seniority in the community, and various customs. i like the diversity and safety and security training the least.

during 'food and water borne illness training' our medical officer (a very straightforward, cool woman from ghana) looked directly at us and was saying: 'they're going to offer you foods you've never seen before. it is going to look strange. it is going to taste strange. you're going to wonder what it is. don't worry. it isn't going to kill you. it is ok. if they eat it, it is food.' then she turned and started to walk away, and said: 'it is, however, going to give you diarhea.'

so, tomorrow i leave for community based training. i will be living by myself with a host family in a language immersion situation in otjiharongo (which, i guess, is the closest town to aj's cheetahs). i'll be studying khoekhoegovab, a clicking language, with a native speaker teacher named esmerelda and three other peace corps folks--one of who reminds me of cory that we play ultimate with. i expect it will be real good. we'll be there for two weeks, then back here in okahanja for a while. i will get on here in a few days and try and put a more detailed schedule up.

i've been running in the mornings with a nice girl from chicago named kristen. she reminds me a lot, personality wise, of my sister gretchen. it has been just great to be outside while the sun comes up (sunrises and sunsets here are something you have to see, especially if you walk a few blocks to one of the open spaces and can see a lot of the sky. sometimes i'm amazed looking west in the morning at how beautiful it is, only to realize that the real action is going on in the east). we've run slow enough that we can talk, but i'm just waiting until kristen decides to start putting the hurt on me. she has done a half-ironman and a bunch of marathons, and i'm sure that she will run off with my pride any day now.

we've been eating good food. lots of rice, macaroni, potatoes, sweet potatoes, squash, various kinds of meat (beef, pork chops, chicken, liver), and gravy. oatmeal in the morning keeps everything moving. the food we're eating tastes good and it is easy to eat a lot. it is, of course, all going to change starting tomorrow when we head north.

i still don't know much about my permanent site. i told them that the one thing i was hoping for would be to live with or near people, rather than being in a dorm at a school. they say that most of the assignments are in the south (which for namibians usually means south of etosha, but they actually mean south of windhoek) and involve teacher dorms.

it seems like most of what hardship we deal with will involve cultural adjustments and job stuff, rather than difficult living conditions (i.e. hauling water for miles or chasing our dinner around with crude weapons). current volunteers that we've talked to make it sound like it is tough, but well worth it.

we had a talent show last night. my favorite was a dance to a song called 'can you give me the girl, the one who is round like a watermelon.'

well, i'll be sending more soon. thanks to everyone who dropped me an email (which i got already) or sent a letter. it looks like i'll be one of the people lucky enough to have access to internet through training, so email is an ok primary means of communication for now. let me know what you're up to (jon_isom@yahoo.com).

welp, i am here in windhoek, safe and sound. they put us up at the safari hotel, which apparently is where visiting dignataries stay. it is across the road from etosha airport if you want to look for it on a map.

tomorrow we head up to okahandja to start training (today is orientation and interviews). we are available for phone calls sunday night (our time = EST+6 currently) local time. if dialing from the US, the number is 011-264-62-504801.

i will call grandma today with the 'call and say you arrived safely' phone card. it apparently lasts less than a minute, so i thought it would be best to put the number on here rather than try and give it to her.

the flight was really easy. we left new york about five, so most of the flight was overnight and it was easy to sleep. i slept early, then stayed up and went to bed tired last night, so i think i have a good start.

that's it for now. my love to everybody and i hope to check back in fairly soon. if you get a chance, write and let me know what you're up to.

well, i leave for namibia in about an hour. i like how that looks on the screen.

here's some schedule stuff.
now -> nov 1 = orientation
nov 1 -> nov 15 = community based training (host family type of thing)
nov 17-21 = training where we are together
nov 22-25 = permanent site visit
nov 26-30 = fart around for thanksgiving
december, more of the same. we get a field trip december 23-25.

the address (this is probably already up below) is:
jon isom
PO Box 6862
Ausspannplatz
Windhoek, Namibia

we've been warned to "not expect easy, inexpensive or regular telephone or email accessibility" so mailing me stuff is probably not an awful idea. i will make a honest effort to respond promptly to try and keep the exchange going. also, i guess sometimes later letters will beat earlier ones, so if you are writing often they suggest numbering the letters.

i love having a 'joe book' and the folding pen that keith k. gave me fits really well with it. here are some of my notes.

training is a little bit like a reality tv show. there's a gay guy and a girl who is most likely to use the word 'patriarchal' and we do silly stuff and everybody pretends they like it.

people like me join the peace corps. i think we're going to get along really well.

the trainer stays this is a lao tzu quote (i guess he feels like i do about sentence length and commas): "go with the people, live with them, learn from them, love them. start with what they know, build with what they have, but with the best of leaders, when the work is done, the task completed, the people will say 'we have done it ourselves'.'"

josh looks like bruce robison. (i am having a heck of a time trying to get 46 names down)

the class is talking about how to mitigate risks from driving in automobiles (as an exercise in deciding how to mitigate risks). they are saying stuff like 'don't drive at night,' 'only drive a vehicle in perfect maintenance,' you get the picture. this is not how i live (although, to their credit, they were asked for this stuff and may not believe it).

gretchen and i heard the (awful) lone star cover of the marc cohn song 'walking in memphis' and i told her that my favorite line was when he had sang a song in church and gave it everything he had and the lady asked 'boy, are you a christian child?' and he said (emphatically) 'ma'am i am tonight.' she thought it was awful, i think because she has a lifelong commitment to christianity and it isn't something that she is some nights and not others. i really identify with the line though, because it is often really difficult to have faith (even in scientifically verifiable stuff like the goodness of people etc) but some times things happen that make it really, really easy.

well, i think i probably miss every person who is reading this. y'all take care and i will see you soon.

I am Jon's dad Bruce. I told him I would help him out with entries at different times. For the time being he has an address where you can write him.

Jon Isom
Po box 6862
ausspannplapz
windhoek, Namibia

There is no zipcode.

Make sure and underline Namibia when you send him mail and underline USA on your return address.

i promised some of you folks that i would put a (as the banks say) 'physical address' on here for the training site in namibia (that will be good until the end of the year). unfortunately, i don't seem to have such an address. i should get one at the staging event next week, so i will post it then.

welp, i am in good old east greenville, pa at gretchen and chet's mansion. it is good to be here.

the truck made it up here, nearly without incident. the only real truck-related incident was in columbia, mo when the driver's side hub broke, and the wheel fell one way while the truck fell the other. luckily, i was in noah's driveway and he wanted to go to the junkyard (maybe so they could get their jeep out). i called around to a few junkyards, and none of them could help (well, one offered to order a hub that would get there in several days). one suggested i try allen's, but they weren't answering their phone. it was a nice enough day and allen's wasn't all that far away, so noah and i decided to drive up and ask them in person. we got there and told the junkyard guy what we were looking for, and he asked us if the truck looked like the blue one that was right by the parking lot. sure enough, it was a '65 dodge. it didn't have many parts left, but it had both hubs and we were out of there for $30.

coming up through kansas, i stopped at one of those diner's where farmer's eat breakfast. it was around 9:30 in the morning, so i asked if they were still making breakfast. someone said "yep," then when the waitress came out they said "we promised him you'd make him breakfast." an older lady at the table turned towards me and said "if i was just passing through town, i'd have the ham." the waitress got there right about the same time, so i told her "well, i'd like the ham." it came with hash browns, sausage, pancakes, and eggs and was a thick piece about half the size of a dinner plate. things went real well that morning.

skip to pennsylvania.. i am coming up the turnpike from philadelphia and see a sign for my exit (PA-663). i am driving a speed where i am passing some people, and some people are passing me. i go to pass some squirt in a little japanese car and he speeds up after i am next to him until he is going faster than i am. i think "ok" and pull back in to the right lane, behind him. he turns on his dome light and flips me off. my dome light doesn't work, so i start digging around for a flashlight so that i can return the favor. i am digging for a while, then realize i haven't been watching for my exit and stop digging and start watching. as time passes, i realize what he was probably thinking and am glad that i didn't find my flashlight-- see, i have texas plates on the truck and he most likely thinks that i am just another oil-rich texan coming up to pennsylvania to buy all the best land -- land that has been in his family for generations. i realize that he doesn't have any way of knowing that i'm actually not here to buy anything and would most likely get along with him if we were working together at burger king or wherever.

it has been a really good time, travelling around the country and seeing my people. i feel really grateful when i think about the many friends i've seen who have been so nice to me and who i like being around so much. (warning, long sentence ahead)how many people get to wrestle with their cousins in denver, prepare themselves for round 2 at the rodeo with joe and eric by eating biscuits, gravy, and bloody marys at the rainbow ("the only way to get a better piece of chicken, is if you are the rooster"), drink white zinfandel on a beer stomach with nathan on a roof in dowtown portland, put a pile (was it 6 that went to libby's house?) of people in their canoe and paddle down the lake singing, burn their furniture with a bunch of their best friends in attendance, hear maury earle's dirt bike story about being welcomed because his friends knew he was the only person who could ride up a certain hill--not dissapointing anyone by cleaning the whole thing (it is better if you hear him make the gear shifting noises as he tells the story) only to ride in to a big hole that nobody knew about at the summit, eat roadkill deer with potatoes and wild mushroom gravy and fresh-baked bread with noah, jen, and the kind of hungry that a 30-mile bike ride before breakfast makes you (noah can tell you more about this), drop in to cw's paren'ts house to find out that they are having thanksgiving dinner early because he will be in texas for thanksgiving, and stay at a little bit of paradise in eastern pennsylvania with people as good as gretchen and chet in 6 weeks? i would guess not many. most people would be happy, and rightfully so, to do that list of stuff in a year.

i agree with townes van zandt when he said "i am grateful that old road is a friend of mine."

if you get a chance, send me an email (jon_isom@yahoo.com). i'll write back, i promise.